Cardamom is a spice that’s frequently used in Indian cuisine. It is mostly used for baking purposes due to its unique and pleasant flavor. However, the superb flavor isn’t the only good thing about this spice. The many health benefits of cardamom don’t get mentioned as much as they should. Cardamom is mostly available in Asian tropical places. This spice is not that easy to find in the Western world, even though it is used in many Scandinavian pastries.
Cardamom close up
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Top 15 Health Benefits of Cardamom
Reduced Risk of Diabetes
People who suffer from diabetes generally have low levels of manganese. Cardamom is known for containing a high amount of this mineral, which is why people who are worried about their blood sugar levels should consume this spice.
Improved Digestive Health
Cardamom is often used to treat stomachaches. This spice has unique properties that will improve your digestive health. This makes sense considering that cardamom is a member of the ginger family, and ginger is known for its digestive benefits.
Regularized Heart Rate
Cardamom is filled with minerals that are good for your heart, such as magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Your cells, body fluids, and blood all contain potassium, so it comes as no surprise that this mineral can improve your heart health. When you consume the right amount of all of the above-mentioned nutrients, you will keep your blood pressure under control and regularize your heart rate.
Fight Anemia
You need to consume a lot of different nutrients in order to fight symptoms of anemia, such as weakness and fatigue. These nutrients include riboflavin, niacin, vitamin C, iron, copper, and manganese. All of these nutrients participate in the production of cellular metabolism and red blood cells.
Asthma Relief
People who suffer from asthma can use cardamom to relieve symptoms of asthma, such as wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. This spice will make breathing easier for you primarily because it will increase blood circulation within your lungs, while also soothing mucous membranes and fighting inflammation. Cardamom is also known for relieving chest congestion.
No More Bad Breath
Thanks to the antimicrobial qualities present in cardamom, this spice will help eliminate unpleasant mouth odors. Simply by chewing on cardamom seeds can help you get rid of bad breath. It’s worth mentioning that a component of cardamom oil known as cineole can also help kill bad breath bacteria. This component can also cause gum and tooth decay. In order to get rid of bad breath, you can simply chew on a cardamom pod.
Improved Kidney Health
Cardamom can improve your kidney health thanks to the fact that it promotes urination. This will help remove the urea and excess calcium that can get accumulated in the kidneys. Regular cardamom intake can help you battle a number of kidney problems, such as kidney stones, frequent urges to urinate, and painful urination.
Improved Appetite
Cardamom is a great spice for you if have problems with your appetite. By stimulation the secretion of digestive juices, this spice can help improve your appetite.
Detoxification
Thanks to the fact that cardamom is filled with antioxidants it can help remove harmful toxins from your body. Considering that this spice is also a great source of manganese, a mineral known for producing enzymes that destroy free radicals, it will not only remove toxins from your body but prevent them from attacking you as well.
Reduced Risk of Cancer
Cardamom contains certain phytochemicals that are known for their ability to fight cancer. Consuming this spice can help prevent ovarian, breast, colon, and prostate cancer.
Improved Skin Health
Some people mix cardamom into skincare products to improve their skin health. They mostly do this due to the anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties that this spice has.
Cure for Hiccups
Hiccups can be extremely annoying, and you can’t always find a good way to get rid of them. However, by consuming cardamom, you will find out that this spice can be a really effective remedy for hiccups. The best way for you to get rid of hiccups is to put a few pods of cardamom and boil them in water.
Reduced Risk of Depression
The same components in cardamom that help detoxify your body are also responsible for helping you fight depression. Note that medications people use to treat depression don’t help everyone. Some find their cure in nutrition.
Lower Cholesterol Levels
Cardamom does a lot of good for the bloodstream. Not only does it improve blood circulation, but it also helps control your cholesterol levels. All of this will help keep your heart healthy.
Cough and Flu Relief
Another great health benefit of cardamom is that it can help in relieving the cough and flu. Cardamom tea is one of the best home remedies for the common cough and flu.
12 Fun Facts about Cardamom
- Ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks all used cardamom seeds, but for different purposes. The ancient Egyptians used them as a tooth cleaner, while the other two ancient civilizations used it for perfume.
- Cardamom is the third most expensive spice in the world.
- According to scientists, cardamom is one of the most ancient spices in the world. This spice dates back more than 4,000 years.
- Make sure to toast the whole cardamom pod in a dry skillet for a few minutes before grinding the seeds in order to make sure that the spice doesn’t lose its flavor.
- This spice is used mostly in Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines to flavor baked goods, rice, tea, coffee, vegetables, and meat.
- The Vikings managed to bring cardamom into Scandinavia over a thousand years ago. The spice is still popular there today.
- There are two different types of this spice – black cardamom (that has larger brown seeds) and green cardamom (that contains smaller green seeds).
- Although it was introduced to Guatemala just over a hundred years ago, this country is the world’s largest producer of this spice today.
- Wild cardamom grows in the moist evergreen forests of southern India.
- The demand for cardamom is constantly rising. Thanks to this, poor farmers in Asia are able to make more money simply by starting to grow this spice.
- Although it will definitely help you experience some great health benefits, it isn’t taken so seriously in western medicine. However, in traditional Chinese medicine, this spice is used to treat numerous health problems.
- Scientists believe that cardamom was the most popular spice used by the ancient Romans.
Tips to Add More Cardamom into Your Diet
The great thing about cardamom is that it goes great with any pastry that you want to make. It will surely make anything you choose to bake much sweeter. Grinding cardamom seeds will provide you with a powder that you can add to cookies, cakes, pancakes, pastries, and biscuits.
Adding a few cardamom seeds into a hot beverage will definitely have a positive effect on both your overall health and your taste buds. Not only will this spice make your coffee or tea tastier, but it will also provide you with the health benefits we previously discussed. Adding cardamom into a hot beverage will transform it into a completely new, delicious drink.
If you’re looking to experiment and want to give your ordinary dishes a unique flavor, you can add a bit of ground cardamom into dips and sauces.
Dangers and Side Effects of Eating Too Much Cardamom
While cardamom is known for improving your overall health, you should be how much of this spice you can actually use. Consuming excess cardamom can lead to a few side effects. Note that not everyone will experience the following side effects from eating too much cardamom.
Allergic Reactions
When consumed in larger quantities over an extended time period, cardamom can lead to certain unexplained allergic reactions. The most common type of allergic reaction is contact dermatitis, which is basically a kind of skin rash. If you consume cardamom unknowingly but are sensitive to this spice, then you may experience hives. Some people also experience respiratory allergic reactions. The symptoms of these reactions include chest pain, uncomfortable feeling, throat tightness, and shortness of breath.
Drug Interactions
If you’re taking certain drugs to treat health problems, then you should watch your cardamom intake. This spice is known for mixing badly with many different drugs. Consuming cardamom and taking certain drugs can lead to serious health problems. Avoid eating too much cardamom if you’re using any of the following types of medicine – aspirin, gallstone drugs, HIV drugs, antidepressants, liver medicine, anticoagulants, and irritable bowel syndrome drugs.
Gallstone Complications
Despite having its benefits, cardamom can also cause certain health issues. One of the most common side effects of this spice is the formation of gallstones. The reason why gallstones can form from excess cardamom intake is due to the fact that your digestive system isn’t able to completely absorb this spice. Instead, sedimentation of these seeds starts to occur within your body. Although you probably experience this problem by consuming cardamom occasionally, you may experience it if you eat too much of it on a regular basis.
Impotency
Even though this has yet to be proven, many people complain about impotency when consuming a lot of cardamoms. If you don’t want to have problems with your potency, then make sure to watch your cardamom intake.
Conclusion
If you live in a Western country, then there’s a chance that you have never tried cardamom before. If that’s the case, then you should definitely make sure to start educating yourself about this spice and finding a store near you that sells it. Although you won’t use it in big quantities, cardamom will still have a profound effect on your overall health. Some of the most notable health benefits of this spice include reduced risk of diabetes, regularized heart rate, improved kidney health, asthma relief, reduced risk of cancer, and detoxification.
Even though it isn’t so widespread, cardamom is considered to be one of the most ancient spices in the world. Although this spice will provide you with a number of health benefits, it’s worth noting that it can also cause some health issues when consumed in excess. Some of the most common side effects associated with excess cardamom consumption include impotency, allergic reactions, and gallstone formation.
